


The Day The Storm Blew In

by Theonewhosawitall



Series: Rick's View [6]
Category: Magnum P.I. (TV 2018)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Coda, F/M, Gunshot Wounds, Hostage Situations, Hurricanes & Typhoons, Surgery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-17
Updated: 2021-02-17
Packaged: 2021-03-12 06:07:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29505270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Theonewhosawitall/pseuds/Theonewhosawitall
Summary: There's a tropical storm on the way, TC doesn't know the insurance has slipped, Juliet's got a date, and now there's a hostage situation in the bar.Can Rick's day get any worse?Season 3 Episode 5
Relationships: Juliet Higgins/Orville Wilbur Richard "Rick" Wright
Series: Rick's View [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2181300
Comments: 12
Kudos: 9





	The Day The Storm Blew In

"Man, Kumu's carpentry skills are no joke!" Shammy said.

He watched, impressed at how well she could handle the saw she was using. Gordon quietly agreed. Juliet, however, gave a slight shrug.

"I mean, she's all right, Her end cuts could be a little more precise," she said.

She couldn't hide the full venom in her tone even though she tried. Gordon snickered. He had been given an earful on this subject already today and it didn't take a detective to understand why. Shammy hadn't. He tilted his head.

"What's with her?" He asked.

Gordon glanced back at Juliet to check she wasn’t looking. "She really wanted that power saw."

As if to prove his point, Juliet put on her sweetest voice and called, "Hey, Kumu! Let me know if you want a break. I can take over anytime."

Kumu laughed back, "You kidding? I can do this all day!"

Juliet soured slightly as she pursed her lips. Gordon and Shammy shared a look. Shammy took the silent advice and let the topic go.

"Hey guys," Thomas waved as he passed to head for the door. Rick walked past the door as he did. "Hey."

Rick looked up, and a look of impatient relief crossed his face, "Hey, about time. What took you so long?"

"Well, I got good news and bad news," Thomas warned.

"Wait, where are the flashlights?" Rick frowned.

"Okay, bad news first. Uh, flashlights and batteries are sold out, like, everywhere. But I did find some on Instacart. The only problem is they're going for bucks a pop," Thomas said, apologetically.

Rick groaned. If it wasn't one thing it was another. But it was better to be safe than sorry and the military instinct in him would not let them pass up something they needed just because of expense. Ironically.

"Whatever. I don't care. Just get 'em," Rick said.

Thomas nodded obediently and looked down at his phone just as it chimed to let him know that something had changed. he grimaced.

"Ooh."

Well that was not a sound that filled Rick with hope. "What?"

"Uh, sold out," he said, "Sorry."

Rick sighed and ran a hand across his eyes to pinch the bridge of his nose, "terrific."

Being a master detective, this raised Thomas's eyebrow, "Are you doing okay?"

"I'm fine," Rick lied.

Frustrated that Kumu wouldn't give up the power saw, Juliet hammered the nails into the wooden panels harder than perhaps strictly necessary. Rick felt each bang like a pounding in his head.

"Actually, I'm not," he sighed.

Thomas lifted his chin, and silently invited Rick to explain himself. Rick glanced around to see where TC had gotten to. He was still outside, and he definitely wouldn’t overhear from way out there. Even so, Rick took a step towards Thomas and lowered his voice.

"I, uh... I may have let my hurricane insurance expire on my policy..." he confessed, "You know, when we had to close this bar for COVID, I had to tap into my savings. Just had to cut some corners to make ends meet."

"So if there is damage from the hurricane, then..." Thomas began.

"I'm screwed," Rick grimaced.

Thomas raised his head again, processing. "And TC doesn't know about it?"

Rick pulled a face. There was a flicker of guilt in his chest. TC deserved to know, he was a partner in the company after all. But Rick couldn't bring himself to admit that the business was already failing. It had to work. He had invested too much in it for it not to.

"Well, I mean, look, the weather report says that Jemma's gonna pass right by the island, so I wouldn't worry about it until you actually have to," Thomas assured him.

"I hope so."

Rick looked out towards the ocean, or what little he could see though the doors anyway. The grey clouds on the horizon were far from comforting.

Shammy and Gordon shared a slightly unsettled look as Juliet slammed the hammer dangerously close to the window. The second time she missed the nail, Gordon leapt to his feet.

"Why don't you go grab some sandbags? We're almost done here, but they would help shore everything up," he said calmly.

As he spoke he reached out to take hold of the hammer by the handle so she couldn't use it anymore. Juliet blinked at him.

"Oh, um... of course," she forced a smile and let go of the hammer.

Gordon let the hammer fall with his arm as she walked way. He turned back to Shammy, and the relief on his face was not remotely hidden.

"Mahalo. I feel safer already," Shammy said.

Gordon smirked and shook his head. They were pretty much done, so he slipped the hammer back into his tool box.

Juliet paused and frowned to see Thomas standing and talking to Rick, empty handed. "I thought you went out for supplies."

"He did," Rick said.

"And you came back with nothing?"

Juliet shifted into looking unimpressed so quickly these days, especially when Thomas was involved. It was the only thing that even nearly raised a smile from Rick today.

"Honestly, Magnum, even Jack had the sense to come back with some beans."

"It's not my fault, all right? Everything was picked clean," Thomas laughed.

"Well, I guess it is better than the alternative," Juliet tilted her head towards Rick and explained, "Ordinarily, he'll go out for something very specific and come back with something completely useless. Like, for example, when you go to collect pay for a case and come back with, uh, I don't know, livestock."

Rick smirked, "Or a barbecue."

"Or a hand-knitted sweater!" Juliet smiled back.

Rick's smirk grew into a smile at the sparkle in her eyes. At least when she was around things didn’t seem so utterly hopeless.

"Hey, you know, you're gonna wish you had that hand-knitted sweater with you on your date tonight with Ethan," Thomas countered.

Rick's smile fell immediately. He forced it back into place, but the light in his eyes had dimmed.

"Oh, wow, there's a date tonight?" He asked.

Juliet had gotten into the habit of smiling down at the ground when Ethan came up in conversation. She might as well have blushed. Seeing her look like a school girl with a crush knocked the wind from Rick's sails again.

"Yes, he's taking me to the Ice Palace," she said.

Rick kept smiling, despite the twist in his chest. The bitterness escaped into his sarcasm though, "Ah, ice-skating in the middle of a hurricane."

"Yes, okay, I had my misgivings at first, but I looked it up and the building is rather sturdy. And we'll probably have the rink to ourselves," Juliet countered.

"And it'll be romantic?" Rick asked.

Juliet bit her lip and her eyes shone again as she nodded. "Mmm."

Maybe it had just been wishful thinking, but when Thomas said that he was going to shelter in La Mariana with him and TC and whomever else needed to stay there, he had assumed Juliet was coming too. For so long the two of them had been a package deal. If she was choosing Ethan over _Thomas,_ he couldn't help wondering how long before she left all three of them altogether.

Gordon interrupted his train of thought. "All right, I'm taking off. Got to get back to the station before the storm hits."

He was taking his bag of tools with him. Without them, without him, Rick would had been freaking out even more by now.

"Hey, thanks so much for your help, Gordy. You're a great friend," he said, earnestly.

"Happy to help. You guys stay safe, okay?" Gordon warned.

Juliet and Rick nodded which satisfied him. But then he turned to give Thomas a pointed look and Thomas smiled back. He couldn't ever promise anything like that. He was a danger magnet. That's why he had _Mag_ in his name. But as Gordon left, Rick's phone buzzed. He had set alerts based on the most up to date information available to him, so they could stay open as long as possible. After all they desperately needed whatever cash they could get.

"All right, everybody, show's about to begin. That's last call, everybody! Drink up! Come on, drink up!" Rick yelled.

Juliet took a quiet step back to make a phone call. Thomas watched her do so. Rick watched Thomas. He didn’t want Juliet thinking he was being nosey, and he could read Thomas like a book.

"Hey, Ethan, it's me again. I'm just checking that you're on your way."

Juliet looked towards Thomas and he quickly snatched his eye away. Unfortunately he caught Rick looking at him, and came over to talk.

"Hey, what do you think the over/under is on her actually making it to the ice rink in this weather?" He asked quietly.

Rick didn't really want to think about- well any of it really. He didn't like the idea of Juliet leaving his bar, he didn’t like the idea of her going out in this storm, he didn’t like the idea of her being on a romantic date without him, he didn’t like the idea of that date being with a _doctor,_ and he didn't want to think about what would happen if she didn’t make it to the rink.

"You know, I don't know, and I don't care," Rick said, a little too sharply. "But, listen, we're shoring up the back door. Can you take some of these sandbags back?"

Thomas put it down to the stress of the storm heading this way, and dropped it. He took the sandbags with a nod.

"Sure, all right."

"Thanks, brother."

With Thomas occupied, Rick wasn't certain what was next on his list. He looked around for inspiration. His eye fell on a regular bar patron, double over his beer at a nearby table. He was old and weathered and frail. Rick felt an urge to protect him. Mostly because he was a friend and Rick wanted to keep him safe, but admittedly the money he spent in this bar was also a factor.

"Earl, tell me got somewhere safer to sleep tonight other than that rusty, old houseboat out there," he said

Earl scoffed, "A captain never abandons ship, huh?"

Rick frowned. Even if Jemma passed straight by them, the water was not a place that anyone would be safe. Rick wasn’t comfortable with the idea of Earl being out there at all.

"Look, TC's out there rounding up people who might need shelter. Just stay here," he urged.

Earl snickered. He stood up, downed his beer, and pushed it into Rick's hand. Rick took it, begrudgingly. Earl patted his shoulder as he turned to leave.

"Good luck, kid."

Rick watched him go. He knew from experience that there was no use in arguing with a sailor. Especially a captain. It didn’t make it any easier to see him go though. Maybe Rick would have tried to stop him if he hadn’t gotten distracted by the argument walking through the front door.

"I mean, you ain't listening, Book. Don't tell me you need hearing aids, too."

"Keep on talking smack, and see what happens!"

"Hey, hey, come on, what's going on here, boys?" Rick called.

"Booky's in a mood 'cause I wouldn't let him drive the van," TC explained.

"He keeps saying I'm too old to get behind the wheel!" Booky argued

"Well-"

Before TC could answer, Rick decided that this was something he wanted no part of, and waved them away. "Hey... you guys, just find a place in the back, make yourselves at home."

"Thanks for taking us in," Booky said. Then, as he and TC turned to find a spot, he spat, "You're an ageist," and rekindled the argument.

"Look, it's just common sense. You know I love you, man, but when you hit a certain number, you got to ride shotgun, baby."

"My eyesight and faculties are good enough to cut your hair!"

Rick rolled his eyes, "All right, guys, come on, let's-let's go to our corners here, huh? How about a round?"

"Yeah, mai tais, and it's on this turkey right here!" Booky huffed.

TC rolled his eyes as Booky jabbed a thumb towards him. TC cut away to head for the bar, and Booky spotted Thomas lingering by the door and got curious. Thomas nudged Juliet gently.

"Shouldn't you be gone by now?" He asked.

"Yeah, Ethan's just running late."

Juliet gave him a weak smile that was meant to reassure him. Or maybe herself. She was never the most patient woman in the world and punctuality was important to her. Giving Ethan leeway was necessary because of his very important career, but it wasn’t always easy.

Booky cleared his throat pointedly to finally draw Thomas's eye away from Juliet. Booky arched an eyebrow at him. Thomas grinned back.

"What's going on, Book?"

"Man... your boy Buckethead here is what's going on," he complained. Booky caught Juliet as she watched them curiously, and he straightened his back. "Oh! Well, who do we have here? You finally got a girlfriend?!"

Juliet almost snorted as she said, "Oh, in his dreams!"

From behind the bar Rick glanced her way. The derision behind her words did funny things to his chest. She never scoffed at _him_ like that.

"This is Juliet Higgins. This is my partner," Thomas said.

"And his employer," Juliet beamed.

"You just love saying that, don't you?" Thomas said, bitterly.

"Well..." she shrugged.

Booky snickered. He had only just met her and he didn’t know her from Adam, but if she could keep his boys in line, he knew she was a keeper. He held out his hand.

"Booky."

She smiled back and shook it, "How do you do?"

"Likewise," he said.

Rick was so busy watching their conversation that he spilt lime juice across his palm. Usually that wouldn't matter, he could clean up and move on, but it turned out that he had a paper cut between his fingers that the lime juice found easily. He hissed sharply, which drew Shammy's attention and he wheeled closer to check up on him.

"You okay dude?" Shammy asked.

"Yeah - yeah I'm fine," Rick frowned.

"You don't sound fine."

"Yeah well I got lime in a paper cut and-"

Rick was cut off by the door crashing open and letting the wind whip in. Ethan slammed it shut behind him. Rick's shoulders sagged.

"And there's a doctor in the house," he finished, bitterly.

"I am so sorry, Traffic was a nightmare," Ethan said.

Juliet lit up when he pulled his hood down, "Hi!"

"You look beautiful."

Ethan leaned in to kiss her cheek and Rick fought the urge to throw up by squeezing a rag against his hand to soak up the lime juice. Thomas, feeling like a third week and looking like he had just sniffed out of date milk, retreated to the bar. Shammy nudged him.

"Hey, Is this the new guy?" He asked.

"Yep," TC popped the P.

He was the only one who looked happy that Ethan was there. Shammy looked delighted, not because Ethan was there but because of who he was. He hadn't met Juliet's boyfriend yet and he was desperate to know what kind of man made _her_ grin like a school girl.

"Ready to go?" Ethan asked.

"I just have to grab my bag," she said.

"Okay."

"One sec."

Ethan smiled as Juliet slipped out of his arms and hurried away to find her back. Then he turned his head to find four navy SEALs staring at him, like they were waiting for a keyword to jump him. All four of these men were deeply important to Juliet's life, and each were impressive on their own. _Together_ they were something else. And they cared about Juliet a lot.

It was a little intimidating.

"Guys. Nice to see you all again. How's it going?" Ethan asked, politely.

Thomas cleared his throat and jumped back into friendly mode on reflex. "This is, uh, Shammy and-and our boy Book right here."

"Hey," Shammy waved.

"Ethan. Nice to meet you," he smiled.

"Nice to meet you, too," Shammy said.

"Hi," Booky nodded.

"Hey," Ethan waved.

Shammy eyed him suspiciously, like he was trying to size him up. Ethan shifted where he stood. He looked nervous. Rick took pity on him and forced a smile.

"Hey, uh, got to say... Ice-skating, huh? I like your style, Doc," he said.

Ethan gave a sheepish chuckle and said, "Yeah, actually, Juliet's never skated before, so this could be interesting."

"Ice-skating?" Shammy frowned.

"Yeah, You know the Ice Palace, right?" Thomas said.

TC frowned, "In this storm? Place is gonna be empty."

"That's the idea," Ethan admitted.

Rick clenched his jaw at Ethan's sheepish smile, especially when Shammy laughed in approval.

"Oh, like Rocky and Adrian in the first Rocky. Nice move!"

"Sure you're not worried about the weather?" Thomas asked.

"Oh, there might be some risk, but I don't think this storm's anything to worry about. You know, we might get some heavy rain, but that's about it. You know, the media hypes this stuff up to draw viewers. I've seen it a million times," Ethan shrugged.

Rick rolled his eyes. There was a lot of things he had seen a million times that still needed to be treated with caution. Going out in a storm was reckless. He hated that Juliet would be put at risk. That turned into just hating Ethan when Juliet returned and immediately wrapped an arm around his waist.

"Hey."

"You all set?"

"Mm-hmm.

"Let's go."

"All right."

Juliet's eyes were fixed on Ethan which turned Rick's stomach. He wondered how long it would take to barricade the door shut to keep her inside with him. Thomas could probably stall them for long enough. He was good at that sort of thing. He had stalled murders long enough to be rescued multiple times.

"Guys," Juliet nodded in farewell.

Ethan wrapped an arm around her shoulders to lead her to the door. Rick tighten his grip on his finger so tightly that it wasn't lime juice making it ache anymore.

Then, much to his surprise, phones starting chiming around them, like dominos. Rick's heart rose as he read the alert.

"Oh. Hang on, Jules. I don't think it's gonna happen. They're telling everybody to stay where they are," he said.

"Jemma just got upgraded to a Category 3," Shammy said.

"According to this, it's passing right over us," Thomas announced.

Rick's heart sank again. It was like a wish had been granted, in the most backhanded way possible. Juliet had to stay, but the hurricane was going to destroy his bar with her _and_ her boyfriend inside. The worried murmuring started immediately and Rick took control, partly because it was his bar and partly as a distraction.

"All right. Everybody, just take a breath, okay? We all heard the governor's message. He just wants us to shelter in place until this thing is over," Rick called,

"All right, don't worry, everybody. We have plenty of food and water. There's even a doctor in the house, okay? First round's on me."

Conversations continued but outside the wind was picking up. It came whistling loudly through the cracks in the storm panels as it did. Booky chuckled to himself.

"God's angry."

TC rolled his eyes. Booky was not the most reassuring person to be trapped in the middle of a hurricane with.

"Excuse me, I'm just gonna check on the staff," Juliet said.

"Yeah," Ethan nodded and let her go.

"Maleah, it's me. I just wanted to make sure you had a safe place to ride this storm out. Call me when you get this," Kumu said.

Thomas glanced around at the people around them. Everyone was checking in on the people who mattered most to them. Everyone except him. And Ethan. Which didn’t help to endear him to Thomas in anyway.

"What'd you say about the hurricane not making landfall?" He said, drily.

Ethan chuckled again and nodded, "Yeah, I, uh, guess I may have been overly optimistic there.."

"Well, least you're a doctor, not a meteorologist," Thomas stated.

Ethan's smile shrank slightly at the tone. "Yeah. Good thing..."

Thomas just hummed. He and Ethan were locked in a staring match as Juliet came back. Ethan broke it off to smile at her.

"Everything okay?" He asked.

"Yeah. All the staff are gonna gather in the main house. They'll be safe there," she said.

"Looks like we won't be skating. Sorry," Ethan said.

"I was looking forward to that," Juliet sounded disappointed.

"Yeah, me, too," Ethan said.

"It doesn't mean we can't have fun here," Juliet decided. She did, after all, grow up in England. If she let a little thing like bad weather ruin her fun she wouldn't know what it was. "Fancy a game of pool?"

"You're on," Ethan shrugged.

Juliet grinned smugly. Rick chuckled to himself and shook his head. When he first got the pool table he had bragged about how great he was at the game. Juliet had played along for a while, amusing herself as she feathered his ego along. And then, after finally allowing him to coerce her into letting him teach her how to play, she had schooled him. Juliet broke his ego back into place with a smile.

She could do it all over again for all he cared. Half an hour as the subject of her entire focus was more than he ever bothered to hope for. And it was _Ethan's_ privilege for now.

"So, the doc seems pretty great," Shammy said.

"Yeah, but he just doesn't seem like her type," Thomas wrinkled his nose.

Shammy raised an eyebrow. "I'm not sure why. Think he's kind of perfect. Nothing for her to fix."

"Yeah. I'm with Sham. Ethan seems like a good dude. I figured you'd be happy for her, TM, for the longest, you've been pushing Higgy to date somebody," TC said.

Rick rolled his eyes so heavily that he had to take a step back so they wouldn’t notice him. This was all Thomas's fault. If he hadn't pushed her into dating again, if he had stayed with her so she didn't get shot, if he had let Rick go and pick her up from the hospital-

Rick shook his head. If and but wasn't going to get him anywhere. At least she was here. She was in the bar, where he could keep an eye on her and keep her safe. That was better than worrying about the bar and worrying about her safety. He had to count his blessings.

It really wouldn't take long.

"Yeah. I just think she could do better. That's all," Thomas complained.

"Guy's a good-looking doctor with big bucks. What could be better than that?" Shammy snorted.

"Yeah, but he's _her doctor_ ," Thomas argued, "I mean, you can't forget that."

"And what's your point?" TC asked, plainly.

Thomas spluttered as he tried to stop himself sounding as bitter and jealous as he felt. "Point is a doctor shouldn't date their patient! It's just... Something's weird about that..."

"You didn't say that when they first started going out," TC argued.

"No, but I looked it up, and 70% of doctors think that that crosses the line!" Thomas insisted.

"Tell that to the cute radiologist at the V.A. I hooked up with last month."

Shammy took a victory sip of his bottle as the other two looked down at him in surprise."

"Really? Sham _my!"_

Even the sudden change of bragging rights wasn’t enough to shift TC's attention though. Thomas was acting weird so it was his turn to play detective.

"But why you suddenly bumping on Higgy and Dr. Ethan, TM? You jealous or something?" He teased.

Thomas's voice rose an octave as he scoffed, "Jealous? No, come on. What the guy did was wrong, That's all. It-It's like me dating one of my clients. Come on, Rick- Back me up on this one!"

Rick looked up. His chest was tight. It was plainly obvious to everyone that Thomas was jealous. The trouble was that if he liked Juliet then the right thing to do would be for Rick to back off. Thomas hadn't really dated anyone since Abby, and after Hannah Rick wasn’t sure he ever would again. But when he glanced over at Juliet and the way she was smiling - _God that smile._ That was a smile worth fighting for.

Except she had a boyfriend, and it was neither of them, so this whole conversation was moot.

"Storm's picking up speed. It's supposed to make landfall in..." Rick looked down at his phone and frowned. It had frozen where the wind had disrupted the phone lines. "Uh, anybody got service?

"Nope."

"Gone."

"Toast."

"Nope."

"Landline's dead, too."

"Great."

Rick ran a hand through his hair and leaned against the bar. There was nothing he could do. All of this was beyond his control. He hated it more than anything else in the world.

A gust of wind rattled something and it thudded across the roof. Immediately the rain found its way in with a trickle onto the bar.

"Hey, Rick, you might want to, uh..."

Thomas gestured to the leak. Rick huffed impatiently. That was all he needed. He grabbed the first thing that came to hand and slammed it down to catch the water. It just so happened to still have some beer in it.

"Hope nobody was drinking that," he muttered.

The wind whipped up and rattled the bones of the bar loud enough to unsettle them.

"You know what? We could use a distraction right about now. I know just the thing," TC declared.

He jumped to his feet and bounced across the room and up onto the karaoke stage. Thomas smirked at the grin TC was giving. The man was made for the spotlight.

"It's "La Mariana's Got Talent" time. Who's up first? Book, get up here!"

Booky waved an arm in grumpy refusal, "Get out of here."

"Come on, Book, Don't be shy. I mean, you got this!" Thomas called.

"Come on, What, you too old for this, too? Okay, stay down there. Somebody get him a cup of Sanka, give him a blanket or something!" TC teased.

Booky rolled his eyes and grumbled, "Buckethead."

As he climbed to his feet he was met with a chorus of whistles and cheering to encourage him.

"Give me that stick."

"John Booky in the house ladies and gentlemen, give it up!

"All right, what are we singing here?"

The whooping continued as Booky found his feet. TC stayed on stage to back him up and to dance a little, and Juliet wolf whistled and made Thomas throw his head back in laughter. In the face of disaster, they were coming together. It felt warm. Homely. Rick was dangerously close to letting go of some of the dread in his chest when the door crashed open.

Two large men in blue uniforms came stumbling in, soaked to the skin, and shoved the door shut roughly behind them. They must have been in transit when the roads shut.

"Hey. You guys all right?" Rick called.

"Yeah," one called back.

"We just can't finish our route. Roads are flooded. Saw your lights on. Be okay if we waited out the storm in here?" the other asked.

"Yeah, of course. Make yourselves comfortable," Rick shrugged.

They nodded, gratefully, and wandered closer into the bar. They were utterly drenched in rain, and Rick felt slightly proud that they had come here to shelter with them. That all of them had. He liked the idea of this bar becoming more than just a social hub, that it could be a community hub too. That meant looking out for the people around them. Even big armour truck couriers with more prominent muscles than him. As far as he was concerned, they were his responsibility now.

"I'll grab you some coffees," Rick said

"Appreciate it," they smiled.

Making coffees meant going to the other end of the bar where TC had invested in a second hand coffee machine that one of Rick's contacts had flagged up for them. It took him within earshot of Thomas and Juliet's conversion.

"You know, Higgy, I was thinking..."

Rick snorted in derision. It wasn’t like Thomas to think about anything.

"Ha! That's unusual for you!" Juliet snickered.

Rick's chest warmed as he smiled to himself. There was something pleasing about knowing he and his crush were on the same wave length. It felt ridiculous to call her that but at this point it was hard to deny.

"It's actually a good thing that Ethan was late picking you up today, because had you been on the road when you planned to be, right? Hurricane's getting worse. I mean, you guys could've gotten seriously injured," Thomas said, pointedly.

Rick rolled his eyes. Thomas was being overly protective again. Juliet seemed to pick up on it this time though.

"Yeah, okay, so he's not a genius prognosticator. So what?" she shrugged.

"No, but he is a doctor. You would think a doctor would have more common sense than that. That's all. It's just... observation," Thomas shrugged.

Juliet eyes him. Rick watched with interest. He couldn't help it.

"You don't have a problem with him, do you?" She asked, cautiously.

"No," Thomas lied.

"Okay..."

"No!"

"Good."

He laughed in his insistence and Juliet clearly didn’t believe him. Not that it mattered. Booky's song came to an end and the cheering was a distraction. Rick hurried the coffee to the waiting couriers and TC joined Thomas at the bar.

"You know you got to sing, right?" He grinned.

"Yeah, yeah. Couple more beers in me, I'll be ready to go," Thomas forced a smile.

"Oh, you gonna pay for them?" TC teased.

"Mmm," Thomas lied.

Both of them knew he wouldn’t, and both of them laughed at the idea that he would. Maybe one day he'd get a case from the Queen of England and win the crown jewels and then pay off his debt. Then again, knowing Thomas, maybe he'd find some poor kid a little down on his luck over there and give them all the cash and be right back here at square one instead.

Endearing bastard. That big heart would be the death of all of them.

"You know, I think I know what your real problem is with Dr. Ethan," TC declared.

Thomas's heart thumped dangerously, "That he was Higgy's doctor and it's technically unethical?"

"Nah, that ain't it," TC said, "See, you don't like him because you've been displaced."

Thomas tilted his head at him, uncertainly. Rick slowed his pace. He wanted to hear this. Well, he didn’t actually, but he wanted to know what was said.

"See, now that she's got Ethan, you're no longer the number-one guy in Higgy's life," TC said.

"Nah, that's, uh... that's crazy," Thomas shook his head and shifted in his seat.

TC arched an eyebrow, "Is it?

Thomas stared at him for a moment. TC stared back. Then he snorted and elbowed Thomas playfully, like he was only joking. Thomas looked relieved and Rick rolled his eyes. Rick didn’t like seeing Juliet and Ethan together either it if Thomas ruined this source of happiness for her, Rick would make him pay.

Just like this storm was going to do to him.

A crash outside sent his heart racing, "Does it seem like it's getting worse? I think it's getting worse!"

"Bro, dude, chill. Just pour yourself a drink or something, man. It'll be okay," TC said.

"I don't understand how you can stay so calm through all this?" Rick said.

TC just laughed. "Look, I'm from North Carolina, baby. Lived through plenty of hurricanes. Jemma's gonna do what she's gonna do, but we'll get through it."

Rick grumbled to himself. He was far from convinced that any of this would be okay. It was going to wipe out his savings and he knew it.

"You boys play poker?"

Rick lifted his head to see Kumu leaning across the backs of both chairs currently occupied by the couriers. Trust her to find a way to make money out of this mess.

"Yeah."

"Good. Park yourselves at that table. Well, come on. I'll go easy on you."

They didn’t have much of a choice. Kumu wasn’t the kind of woman who could be talked out of things. Just ask every arresting officer who ever faced her.

"TC! Poker time. You in?" She called.

TC peeled away from the bar with a grin, "Sure, I'll take your money."

"You got room for one more?" Shammy called.

"Slide in!" Kumu nodded. She flicked the cards between her hands like an expert and slammed them onto the table, "All right! Tonight's game is no-limit Texas hold 'em. Small blinds are worth two peanuts. Big blinds are worth four."

"Watch it, fellas. Kumu's a rounder," TC grinned.

"Yeah, well, I was the baddest cat at Da Nang Air Force Base!" Booky declared.

He snarled and made a playful cats claw towards her which made her laugh. TC laughed along with them. To him, it was like watching his grandma and pop-pop setting out the card table. Just like the old days.

Rick cleared his throat when he realised it was just him and Thomas left at the bar. He had to say something for the sake of saying something. Any topic at all, just so long as it wasn't _her._

"Did you guys get any leads on that white SUV yet?"

Thomas looked surprised, and then frowned. "No. No, nothing. And I got to admit, it's unsettling."

Rick opened his mouth to continue the conversation but didn’t. A woman was trying to lead her husband over to a chair while he gasped for air and it was a little distracting.

"Easy, honey. H-Here, sit. You got your inhaler?" She asked.

"How's he doing?" Rick asked.

"He all right?" Thomas asked.

"He's having an asthma attack. I can't find his inhaler," she explained.

"Hang on one sec," Thomas stepped back to call across the bar, "Hey, uh, Doc? We could use your help over here."

Rick glanced back at Juliet as Ethan instantly hurried away from her. He was torn. On the one hand he couldn't blame the guy. Rick had given up a lot of good to help strangers before too, and it wasn't even like he was walking from Juliet for good. But on the other hand, anyone who would walk away from Juliet when she was smiling at them like that was a class A moron in his books.

Thomas clapped his arm as he reached them, "This man's a doctor."

Ethan leapt into action and took over. Even though he had taken the role of community leader, Rick felt was no longer needed. He returned to the bar where he would be found if he was needed.

"Okay, sir. I need you to sit upright. Okay, take long, deep breaths."

"The inhaler's not here. Maybe it's in the car."

"I can go grab it," Thomas offered.

"Uh, it's the red sedan. Thank you," she said, handing him the keys.

Thomas squeezed his shoulder. "You're gonna be fine."

Ethan looked up at Thomas in alarm. Rick just rolled his eyes and smirked. Classic Tommy. He was always the hero. Maybe that was why Robin had made him the White Knight in his stories. Although, unfortunately for Rick, the White Knight usually got the girl in the end too.

Juliet scowled as the door flapped. She hurried over to the bar like Rick was the only source of information around.

"Did Magnum just walk out of this nice safe-"

"Yup."

"Let me guess, he's playing hero?"

"Yup."

"Idiot."

"Yup."

Juliet rolled her eyes as Rick snickered. As stupid as it was to walk into a storm like this, Rick wasn't worried. As much as they liked to pretend otherwise, Thomas wasn’t stupid. He was well trained and resourceful. Even if something went wrong, Rick was confident that Thomas had the ability to create a way out. He had survived worse.

And his assumptions were proved true when he came stumbling back in, bringing puddles of rain with him.

"Couldn't find the inhaler," he declared.

Ethan hummed. "We could probably make one. I mean, it wouldn't have the medication, obviously, but it'll help control the attack."

"A makeshift inhaler? You can do that?" Thomas asked.

Ethan nodded uncertainly, "Yeah. I did a stint with Doctors Without Borders. Saw one of the doctors do it in the field once."

"Great. Find Rick, He'll get you what you need!"

Rick laughed. That was also classic Thomas, volunteering his friends services without warning. As soon as Ethan stood up, Thomas tapped Juliet's shoulder.

"We need to talk."

"Yes, I think we do, because Ethan seems to think-"

"No. No, no, we got a problem."

Rick's heart skipped a beat at the word and he raised his chin, but he couldn't ask any questions because Ethan was in front of him.

"Magnum told me to ask you for materials I need to build a make shift inhaler?" He said.

Rick tilted his head, "You can do that?"

"More or less," Ethan shrugged.

Rick's eyebrows rose, impressed. "Alright, how can I help?"

"I need some rags and boiling water, something to funnel the steam-"

"Will a funnel work?"

"I don’t see why not."

Rick picked up the funnel from the cocktail shaker and set it on top of the bar. He grabbed a freshly cleaned bar rag and set it beside it.

"What's next? c'mon, you keep listening things and I'll grab em. I feel like I'm working at a hardware store! Can I interest you in a mallet?" Rick grinned.

"A mallet?" Ethan repeated, bewildered.

"One mallet coming right up," Rick grinned.

He ducked down to reach under the bar. Shammy had stored his tools there for safe keeping, since he had no intention of leaving before the storm passed. A mallet was just one of many tools within reach. When Rick set it down on the bar Ethan's eyes widened. He stared at Rick like he had just pulled off a dazzling magic trick and Rick gave a cocky grin back. Then they both burst into laughter.

"Okay, but seriously, what do you need? How can I help?" Rick asked afterwards.

Rick supplied everything he could and watched as Ethan stitched them together to create something that vaguely resembled a steaming sugar pot.

"Okay, I know this looks funny, but the steam will open up the bronchioles, so breathe it in," he said.

Ethan rubbed the mans back as he breathed in the steam. Slowly, his breathing eased back to normal. Rick's eyebrows rose again.

"Good work doc. This is impressive," he said.

"Thanks. I couldn’t have done it without you," Ethan smiled.

Rick waved a hand dismissively. "Yeah well when you tell Juliet the story later, don’t forget who the hero is."

Rick forced a smile to pretend that he wasn’t serious and Ethan laughed along.

"I wont."

Rick's eye twitched as he held his smile stubbornly. It wouldn't matter if Ethan told her Rick had done it all himself, if Ethan was part of the story, Juliet would see him as the hero. That's what love did.

"Hey, I need you."

Juliet's voice cut through Rick's thoughts. She came up behind him, which was a relief. At least she couldn't see the way it wiped the smile off his lips. He bowed his head and took a step back to let her through to reach Ethan easier.

"Rick, c'mon, it's important," she huffed impatiently and grabbed his shoulder.

Rick's heads snapped up, "Me?!"

"Yes, you! Who else would I be talking to?" She huffed again.

Rick looked towards Ethan for a moment, before deciding against answering the question at all. She wanted _him,_ not Ethan, so he wouldn't risk sharing her attention.

"For what?" He asked.

"We've got a case, we need your help," she said.

He snorted, "Now? in the middle of a storm?!"

Juliet put a hand on her hip and gave him a deeply irritated look. "Now."

He knew that tone. That tone ended with a less than playful punch that would give him a dead arm.

"Alright, but I want my usual 0%, with tip included," he said.

Juliet just smirked. She linked her arm through his and dragged him away, with a promise to Ethan that she'd explain later. Rick couldn't help holding his chin high as he walked arm in arm with Juliet. This was nice. He could imagine this happening again one day. Maybe with one on them in a pretty white frock...

Rick was still away with his daydreams when his leg crashed straight into the table. Juliet's grip tightened to help him keep his balance. TC snickered beside him.

"You okay man?" He asked.

"You spilled my punch!" Kumu complained.

Rick felt his cheeks flush. He hadn’t noticed his other friends gathering around a table until they all watched him slam into it. It wasn’t particularly dignified.

"Sorry Kumu, I'll get you another one-" he began.

Rick moved to walk away but he didn't get fair. Juliet's hand latched on to his wrist and slipped, before finding purchase hooked around his fingers. His heart skipped a beat. He really did feel like a fish right now. She had him. Hook line and sinker.

"That can wait," she said, firmly.

Rick hesitated to move. Juliet gave him a pointed look, and he couldn't argue. Begrudgingly he stepped back into place beside her. She gave an approving nod, before releasing his hand. Rick's shoulders sagged in disappointment. TC caught it and raised a quizzical eyebrow. Rick quickly pulled a face to make him laugh and play it off as nothing.

But what Thomas had to say was no laughing matter.

"I knew there was something off with those two," Kumu muttered.

"They probably figured with everyone distracted by the storm, it'd be a good time to rob that truck," Rick said.

"Yeah, but they shut the streets down, messing up their getaway," TC agreed.

"Yeah, so they call an audible, hunker down in here," Thomas nodded

"Okay. So, we have a limited amount of options. I say we just play along. Hopefully soon, cell service will come back, and we can contact HPD-"

Juliet's plan was cut short by an electrical crackling, and then sudden darkness. Without the music playing anymore, the wind was that much louder. Rick felt like screaming.

"Damn," he hissed. "Hang on, everybody! I got a generator. I'll get the power up in a minute."

The generator was another important investment for the bar. Everything ran on electricity, including the walk in. Everything kept in there would slowly start to ruin all the while the power was out. So when Rick yanked the power chord and the engine but spluttered, he was more than a little irritated.

"Come on! You got to be kidding me!"

"Something wrong?" Kumu asked.

"Yeah. Tank's empty," Rick huffed.

"Keeping a genny without any petrol in it slightly defeats the point, doesn't it?" Juliet said.

"Well, you can thank Thomas for that. He was the last one to have the generator. He said he'd fill it up!" Rick spat.

Thomas gave him an apologetic smile and another excuse. "Come on, how was I supposed to know there was gonna be a hurricane?"

Rick rolled his eyes. This was typical Thomas. He loved the guy, he did, but he was frustrating. There was no point being annoyed with him though. Nothing could be done, and if it could, it would be Thomas that had to do it. Being angry was just a waste of energy.

"All right, I got some candles in the back, but those? Those future dead fish right there? That's on you, pal!" Rick pointed at the tank behind the bar, _"Fish killer_."

"Relax. Look, somebody can go to the parking lot and siphon gas out of one of the cars. Not a big deal," Thomas said.

TC scoffed, "You know, that's actually a great idea. I nominate you for that job. All in favour?"

Juliet was the first to raise her hand. She was getting tired of trying to drill some sense of personal responsibility into Thomas, maybe pushing him into a hurricane would do it for her.

"I can help," Ethan offered. All eyes fell on him again. "It's been a while, but I've siphoned gas before."

"Really?" Rick asked, surprised

"Yeah. I may have stolen a tank or two of gas when I was a kid," Ethan nodded. Then when he looked over at Juliet and the mildly impressed look in her eyes, he sheepishly added, "Maybe a car."

Rick snorted. So Juliet's new, classy, respectable doctor boyfriend had jacked cars as a kid. Just like he had. Maybe she had a thing for bad boys. Rick could only hope.

"So, the reputable Dr. Shah was a bit of a wild child in his youth?" She teased.

"I'm just glad my juvenile delinquency is coming in useful now," he smiled.

"There you have it," TC smirked.

Thomas pushed him towards the exit. "Let's go."

They both moved off to find their coats and whatever else they could use to keep the rain off of them. Ethan looked slightly wary of going out with Thomas alone, but he had volunteered. He turned back to wave at Juliet as they left and she forced a smile back. Once the door shut she chewed her bottom lip.

There were only two people in this place that she trusted enough to be objective enough to ask for dating advice. Kumu was busy keeping everyone occupied - murder suspects included - which only left one. Her favourite goofy, aloha shirt wearing barman, and his pretend psychologically practice.

Juliet leaned almost fully across the bar as she drummed her knuckles against the wood and sucked in her lips. Rick glanced up at her. She forced a smile.

"Hey."

"Hey, you okay?"

"Yeah."

Rick was sorting out cups at the same time, which would have held his focus if it wasn't Juliet, and she wasn’t looking like that.

"You sure you're okay?"

Juliet's head drooped slightly. Rick understood immediately that she had something on her mind. He could only guess what. Unless he could pry it out of her.

"I’m sorry you didn’t get to go ice skating. Doc says you’ve never been before," he said.

"I haven't, but I did once have to go under cover in a roller derby, so I'm sure it cant be too difficult," She shrugged.

"Roller derby huh? What was the name?" Rick asked, keenly.

Juliet bit her lip and lied, "Uh, I cant remember."

Rick didn’t buy it for a second. He raised an eyebrow and warned, "Higgy."

Juliet gave a small groan and smiled down at the bar before confessing, "Lady Dynamite."

Rick threw his head back as he laughed and it made Juliet's cheeks flush.

"Ooh well picked. Because you’re one Dynamite Gal," Rick grinned, "Doc's a lucky man."

Juliet's smile faded somewhat. "About that..."

She had no idea what those two words in that infliction could do to a man's chest. _Rick_ had no idea either. Not until his heart was palpitating.

"Ethan seems to think that Magnum doesn't like him very much. I thought it was ridiculous but..." she let out a sigh like it was the only air she had left in her. "Well I'm beginning to have my doubts..."

"About Ethan or Tommy?" Rick asked.

Juliet closed her eyes and shifted her head, "I know it's silly and there's no reason for me to want anyone's approval, Ethan’s a good man and I like him, but..."

Juliet trailed off. Her eyes still hadn’t left the bar. Rick tilted his head to try and get her to look up, but he had no such luck. It was better this way. If she had met his eye he wasn’t sure what his heart would do.

"But?" He repeated, pointedly.

"But... I would greatly appreciate it if I knew your opinion of him."

She finally looked up at him and Rick was right. His heart couldn't handle it. It felt like a stabbing pain over his chest and he wasn’t entirely sure it was beating.

"Mine? Why- why mine?" He stammered.

"Because you're my friend Rick. Your opinion matters a great deal to me," she said.

"Well I'm honoured... and if I’m being honest-"

Rick leaned against the bar, ready to give Juliet the low down. The full disclosure. The honest truth. He was ready to tell her that Ethan was fine, but he wasn't good enough for her and he never would be because she deserved someone who saw her as she was and knew every part of her. Even the bits she wanted to hide.

But then she looked at him in that way she did sometimes that knocked him backwards.

Juliet had this look. He didn’t think she was even aware of it. Her chin was close to her chest, and her eyes were looking up, which made them wider than usual. Bluer than usual. And gave more away than usual. They shone with nerves. Her were usually lips parted, but sometimes she would close them to gulp. The last time he saw it was when he caught her out on a lie and she was scared he was going to tell Thomas.

He never would, obviously, but he had urged her to do it herself.

This expression was the only one that ever actually betrayed her vulnerability. When she was scared she got feisty and ready to fight, when she was bored she was impatient, when she was shot it was treated like an inconvenience.

So when someone this strong and well defended looked this vulnerable while asking for his opinion, he couldn’t do it. He couldn't let her down.

"If I'm being honest... I don't think it matters what any of us think. He makes you happy. That’s all that matters. And I like seeing you happy. After Richard and Viper and the green card, you deserve to be happy... Tommy will come around. He's just protective. I'm sure that in time, he'll get used to all the changes and he'll lighten up."

Juliet glanced him up and down like she was trying to scan him for information. Trying to detect any hint of deception. Rick found himself holding his breath. He wasn’t lying, but if she probed into what he was holding back, things could get complicated.

Fortunately her shoulders eased and she smiled, "Thank you. It means a lot."

He could breathe again. "Anytime."

There was a clattering above them and yet another leak sprung out, pouring directly onto the bar. Juliet leapt back in alarm. Rick just grunted.

"God!"

He slammed the first thing that came to hand in place to catch the water. It just so happened to be the rest of the cocktail shaker. At least he was getting good use from it.

"Why are you so worked up about the storm, I thought you and TC were covered for this?" Juliet said.

Rick chewed his lip. "I... I let the premiums slide to cover the staffs payments over lockdown."

"Ah. So you're not insured," Juliet stated.

"No. And TC doesn’t know and if anything happens- are you laughing?"

Juliet's eyes were shining as she did her best to hold in a laugh, "No, God no, it's just... I'm sorry."

The laughter just kind of slipped out. She moved her hand to her mouth to try and pin it back. Rick put a hand on his hip.

"What are you laughing at because from where I'm standing-"

At that exact moment it was too much for Juliet. She burst into giggles. Rick just stared at her in wonder.

_"What?!"_

"Sorry! I'm sorry!" She insisted, "but... this is where you were standing when _you_ told _me_ that it's not a good sign to lie to your partner about things like this. All I did was fake a broken arm to get out of a case, this is much worse."

She was grinning as she folded her arms over the bar. She didn’t want to be grinning, but she couldn't help it. The irony amused her deeply.

"Thanks, I hadn’t noticed," Rick sighed.

Juliet felt a tug of guilt and bowed her head again. She softened. "All I mean is... you already know how to fix this problem. You showed me how to. It shouldn't be a problem."

"Telling TC doesn't give us insurance it just makes him mad at me," Rick countered.

"Maybe, but it's better he’s mad at you now then if something actually happens and you can't fix it. I'm sure he'd rather hear it from you than a contractor," she said.

Rick sighed again. "Yeah... Yeah..."

"Besides, TC is a teddy bear. I'm sure he wont be upset for very long."

"Maybe..."

TC might have been a teddy bear to them, but Rick had seen him in action. He had seen what TC could do to someone who put his friends in danger. While Rick was fairly certain TC loved him too much to do anything like that to him, no matter how mad he was, the risk was still there. It wasn't comforting knowledge.

A battering on the front door snapped him out of his thoughts and a familiar voice yelled, "Open up! Let me in!"

Rick practically sprinted to the door to let Earl in. Once it was open enough, the man ducked through and into the warmth, and shook like a dog.

"What happened to going down with the ship, Earl?" Rick asked as he shook his arm dry.

"I was drunk then, I'm sober now!" Earl spat. "Give me a drink."

Rick didn’t even make it back to the bar before the door was being hammered on again.

"Yeah. Come on, come on!"

Thomas and Ethan both came racing in, dripping wet, and laughing. Juliet grabbed some paper towels and hurried over to great them. She smiled warmly at Ethan as she dabbed away the worst of the rain on his cheeks.

"It's wet, you're soaked. Valiant effort," she said.

"Don't know what you're missing, huh?" Ethan winked. She chuckled and let him take the towel. "Thank you."

Juliet turned to Thomas and held out the other. "Thomas?"

"Thanks."

He tried not to look as disappointed as he felt when she didn’t dry his cheeks for him. Though honestly, her giving him a towel to dry off with was more affectionate than most days.

A sudden explosive thundering sound shook the entire bar. Rick covered his face as the glasses were knocked from the shelves and smashed around him. Juliet was nearly knocked clean off her feet. Thomas gasped.

"You okay?!" He asked urgently.

"Ethan?!" She cried.

"Yeah, I'm okay," Ethan promised.

Kumu shouted, "Help!"

And Booky yelled, "We need help over here!"

And the others leapt into action. It was a sudden interruption that sent all of them into high alert. They reacted so quickly that they didn’t even have time to appreciate the absurdity of a boat coming through the wall. Not when someone was trapped under it.

"You need leverage! Grab a table!" Shammy barked.

Between the two of them, Rick and Thomas hauled a table over and carried it to the boat. TC met them part way and helped to angle it into place.

"One, two, three!"

The three of them grunted as one and it drowned out the sound of the others shouting as they pulled the poor man to freedom. Once he was free Ethan jumped over a chair to reach him, and the blood spilling out of his leg. The three men dropped the boat.

"You okay?!"

"Ah, his leg's fractured. You're gonna be all right. Let's get him moved to the bar. Easy!"

Thomas leapt in to help Juliet, Kumu and Ethan carry the man out of harms way so he could be treated.

"We got to pack this up, I got some tarps in the back!" Rick barked.

TC yelled back, "I'm on it."

"All right. I'm gonna get the power on!" Rick yelled.

He grabbed the jerry can from where it had been left and ran down the length of the bar to reach the generator. His adrenaline was pumping and his heart was pounding and his mind was taking things one problem at a time. Even after all these years outside of the Navy, when that training kicked in, it took over. Within minutes the power was on, the patient was being treated, the hole in the wall was being patched and calm was returning to the bar. Rick let out a sigh of relief.

Two problems sorted. The hole was being repaired and the power was back on. Now all they needed to worry about were the two murderers they were trapped in with. And by the look on Thomas's face, he had a half baked plan to deal with that too.

"What are you thinking?" Juliet asked quietly.

"There's got to be a radio on board. Might be able to use it to call Katsumoto," Thomas whispered back.

"If those two notice, it'll force their hand."

"Yeah, which could get ugly really quick. We have to figure out a way to keep 'em occupied."

Juliet glanced around. She spotted Kumu nearby, checking up on someone who had been knocked flying when the boat hit.

"Kumu?" She called.

She gestured for her to come closer. Rick watched as Kumu shuffled over. His eye moved past her and to the couriers across the bar. They looked rattled. Then again, a boat had just comes through the wall and shook the whole bar. That was pretty rattling.

"Yeah?"

"We need you to distract our unwanted guests for a little while. Do you think you can get that poker game started up again?"

"No problem."

"Hey, Kumu. Keep 'em as far away as you can."

Kumu nodded. She wandered towards the larger group and clapped her hands like she was dusting them off to get attention.

"Now that all the excitement's over, it's time to get back to poker!" She cheered. "Gonna pick up the game in here. Come on, Let's go."

Rick smiled and shook his head as he watched Kumu lead her little group across the bar like ducklings following their mother across the road. His smile fell when he looked back at the giant hole in his wall that his business partner was taping shut with tarps and duct tape.

"This is one of those rare moments you never want to have, when having insurance actually pays off," TC chuckled.

Rick licked his lips. Juliet was right. It was better coming from him than a construction company.

"Yeah... Only problem is we don't."

"We don't what?" TC asked.

Rick swallowed. "Have insurance."

TC frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"Look, man, when we shut down, I-I let the premiums slide. I was gonna start paying 'em again next month-"

"So you're telling me that all of this damage here, none of it's covered?"

Rick bowed his head. He was stammering out excuses, but it didn’t temper the guilt. "Look, I-I had to make some cuts. You know? It was a calculated risk."

"Well, I'd say you miscalculated!" TC spat.

"Man, I'm sorry, all right? I made a mistake."

"You think?!"

Rick winced when TC snapped at him. TC huffed and shook his head and went back to taping up the tarp. Everything he did, he did a little too sharply for Rick's comfort. He was pissed off. Rightly so, but still. Rick hated that he caused it. He joined TC by his side and silently helped him hold the tarp straight so it would stay.

"How do you propose we keep them here?" Juliet asked.

Thomas shrugged, "I'm working on it."

"We could sabotage the armoured car?" She said.

"We can't access the engine, and the tires are run-flats," Thomas said.

As they spoke he kept looking around for anything that would spark an idea. Any form of inspiration to help decide what to do next. And then, more by luck than judgement, one came.

"I have an idea."

That sentence was ominous enough coming from Thomas, but he didn’t even bother to elaborate before walking away. He walked straight up to Rick and gave him no explanation either.

"I need your porche."

"Why? Ferrari not good enough for ya?"

"It's important."

Rick arched an eyebrow. Thomas silently pleaded with him. Rick sighed. He couldn’t afford to have two friends mad at him at the same time.

"Be careful. I don't want anyone getting hurt in this weather," he warned as he handed over the key.

Thomas flashed him a cocky smirk, "you worrying about me Ricky?"

"I meant my car," Rick stated.

Thomas snickered. He knew when Rick was lying. "I'll be careful, I promise."

"Yeah, I've heard that one before," Rick tutted.

Five minutes later a car alarm was blaring outside. Rick and Juliet shared a tentative look. The two couriers tensed.

"Car alarm. Wind must have set it off," Juliet said.

The alarm continued blaring. Rick's leg quietly bounced as he felt an urge to hurry outside and help Thomas fix this.

"Anyone gonna kill it?" The courier demanded.

That was Rick's chance. "Uh, yeah. I think it's mine. Left the key in the car."

Juliet's eyes widened slightly as she watched Rick tug on his coat and run for the door. Now two of her friends were out in the storm and the rest were in close proximity of two murderers.

If only they had made it to the ice rink.

Fighting against the wind was hard enough but the rain was like rubber bullets. They slammed into Rick and he could feel them leaving bruises. Thomas was half hanging out of the porche, trying hard to silence the flashing lights.

"You got to shut that thing off!"

"I'm working on it!"

Over the wind, rain, ocean and car alarm the only way to hear each other was to yell. When he tried, Thomas couldn't understand him, so Rick took matters into his own hands. He leaned over to grab the key fob from Thomas and pressed the button to silence the alarm. Thomas blinked in surprise.

"Coulda done that five minutes ago!" Thomas yelled.

"Whatever, are we done?!"

"Not yet! Help me with this!"

Between the two of them Thomas and Rick shoved the red Sudan across the parking lot and onto the other side of the armoured van, firmly trapping it in. Those two murderers were not going anywhere. They wouldn’t have known either if Thomas hadn’t followed Rick back inside and caught their attention.

"Hey. Where'd you go?" The courier challenged.

The tension grew instantly. Thomas gave a blasé shrug. "Check the dock lines. We don't want another boat coming through the wall, do we?"

"Yeah. We wouldn't want that. So, how's it looking out there?"

"I think we're in good shape."

"Yeah? You own a boat?"

"No. No, I served in the Navy."

"Well, thank you for your service."

Thomas glanced towards Rick and at the same time, Rick glanced towards TC. That particular sentence had been thrown at them all countless times, but now it sounded like a threat.

"It was an honour."

Thomas moved past him towards the safety of Juliet, TC, Shammy and Kumu.

"Hey, sailor-"

Thomas froze as he heard the uncomfortably familiar sound of a gun being cocked. Rick tensed. Now everyone in his bar was in danger.

"What were you really doing out there?"

Rick raised a hand to try and ease the tension, "Hey, hey. Come on, guys. What's going on here?"

"Shut up! You gonna answer me, sailor," he snarled.

"Just calm down, all right? Everybody's a little bit on edge right now. I understand..." Thomas said, calmly.

Rick edged slowly towards the other side of the room. His plan was to ease the civilians towards the back, of the bar, where they would be safely kept away from this mess. Juliet caught his eye. He gently nodded a head towards the back of the bar to try and share his idea. Juliet gave a little nod.

The problem with that was that, much like everyone else in the room, her attention was not on Ethan.

He crept slowly, cautiously across to the gunman. The moment he was close enough, he tackled him. Ethan struggled against his arm, trying to point the gun up and out of the way. No one could be hurt if it pointed up.

Then the gun went off.

Ethan staggered backwards, his hand moving to his side. Blood was pooling across his shirt instantly.

Juliet yelped, "Ethan!"

Juliet moved to support him but Rick latched onto her arm. The gun moved from Ethan to Juliet. Rick clenched his jaw.

"Dumb move, Doc!" The gunman spat.

"Separate em! We gotta keep these lot under control and they'll be a problem," the other ordered.

TC hauled Ethan to his feet and helped Juliet to hold him up. The first gunman ushered Rick and Thomas along with them, towards the kitchen. Kumu and Shammy were quick to step to one side and separate themselves from the others. If they stayed out here than at least they would have eyes outside to back them up.

"Open it! Move!"

The gunman shoved them roughly towards the walk in freezer.

"You stick us in there, we're gonna die!" Rick argued.

"I'll raise the temperature. You'll be fine," he spat.

Rick huffed and muttered something about him being very considerate. Up the temperature and they might not freeze to death in there, but it would definitely ruin their food. Then again so would Ethan bleeding on the floor so maybe this whole situation was a write off.

"Can I please just grab some supplies to treat his wound? It's very serious," Juliet begged, quietly. "Please."

The gunman clenched his jaw uncertainly. He glanced at Ethan. He was already going down for one murder, there was no point in making it two.

"Make it fast."

Juliet nodded. She bounced around the room collecting up anything that she could use to treat Ethan, and anything that looked like it might help them escape later. That’s when she spotted Booky hiding behind a set of shelves. He pressed a finger to his lips. Juliet grabbed a bottle of vodka.

"For the pain," she said.

Rick scowled as the door was shut behind them, trapping them in. Juliet fell to her knees to help Thomas treat Ethan. Ethan grabbed hold of Juliet.

"I'm sorry," he grunted.

"What are you apologizing for?" Juliet asked.

"I'm not usually this dumb," Ethan laughed through the pain.

"Please, you're being brave!" Juliet insisted.

Ethan gave a pained smile, "You're very kind."

"No, she's right, Doc. That took guts," Thomas assured him.

Ethan just groaned between pants instead of answering. It was a throbbing, burning pain and Juliet pushing down on it was the only thing keeping him conscious.

At least it was warm though. Rick was bouncing slightly from foot to foot as he watched them. All he was wearing was his aloha shirt and it was cold in here.

"Why didn't they just kill us?" Ethan grunted.

"Good?" Juliet muttered.

Thomas nodded, "Yeah. Well, because they're thinking tactically."

"Yeah, right now, there's no point in killing anyone. They're stuck here. Hostages give 'em leverage if the cops come before they can leave," TC agreed.

"The only problem is, Katsumoto won't know what happened," Thomas said.

"No, but we might have an ace in the hole. When I was looking for supplies, I saw Booky. He's hiding. He must have slipped out during the commotion," Juliet explained.

"Hopefully, they don't notice he's missing," Thomas said.

"Well, if we're lucky, he can sneak out the back, - maybe get some help," Rick suggested.

"In this storm? At his age?" TC scoffed, "Man, that's a suicide mission. I wish that fool would stay where he is."

Ethan gasped in agony as Juliet's hand Juliet's moved and she hissed apologetically.

"Sorry! You're gonna have to tell me what to do!"

Ethan gritted his teeth and grunted, "The bullet's near the femoral artery. You need to take it out. I'll talk you through it - If I can stay conscious."

Juliet swallowed and nodded, "Okay, drink this."

She poured the vodka into his mouth and he drank it like a hamster from a bottle. Rick grumbled to himself at the vodka that spilt onto the floor but said nothing. He couldn't sell it anyway now.

"Why don't you guys figure out a way to get us out of here?" Thomas said.

"Isn't there a safety feature where you can't get trapped inside?" TC asked.

"Yeah, it's this handle, but it's got to be unlocked on the other side," Rick said.

"Maybe if we can pop this off, we can get to the locking mechanism," TC suggested.

"Yeah, we just need something like a screwdriver, something with a flat edge-"

The first thing that came to Rick's eye was the shelf. They were supposed to be deconstructable for easy manoeuvring. If he could loosen it-

"Oh, here we go, here we go. This is gonna work!"

"You need to... irrigate the wound first-" Ethan panted.

"Uh-huh-"

He hissed sharply and gasped for air at the searing sting of the vodka in his bloodstream.

"It's okay, it's okay, it's okay!" Juliet urged.

"You'll need to use those tongs... to get the bullet out-"

"Okay-"

"And then you'll need to cauterize the wound!"

Rick's heart skipped a beat. His head snapped up. Juliet glance at Thomas. Thomas frowned hard. He focused on heating the implements to sterilise them, and said nothing. They moved on without pause.

TC, however, was busy trying to prize the lock free. He slammed his fist against it when it didn't move and huffed, "Damn it!"

"Here, come on, let me- let me give it a shot," Rick said.

"Be my guest," TC grumbled.

He gave the metal bar to Rick so that he could try jamming the lock. TC leaned his back against the wall and folded his arms across his chest. It worked for two reasons. Firstly the extra heat on his chest warmed his organs which was vital to staying alive in this place, and secondly, he was still feeling sulky.

Rick's stomach twisted as he watched TC pout. "Look, man, I get why you're upset, all right? I just, I thought we agreed we-we'd keep paying the staff - through the shutdown."

"What's your point?" TC stated.

"My point is, how was I supposed to do that without cutting some corners?!" Rick asked.

"Cutting corners ain't the problem!" TC argued, "It's making a huge decision like dropping our insurance without so much as a heads-up."

"I didn't want to stress you out."

"What does that say about our partnership? About our friendship?"

Rick bowed his head. The guilt on his chest ached. After everything they had survived, he didn’t want to die in the walk in of his own bar with his best friend mad at him.

TC sighed. "Look, man, I know this thing was never totally risk-free... I get that... But I signed on because I believe in you and this place. But if you're hiding things, that's a problem!"

"Y-You're absolutely right. I'm sorry. A hundred percent honesty from here on," Rick promised.

"All right. Well, we'll figure it out. We'll fix whatever we can ourselves, then I'll borrow against Island Hoppers to pay for the rest."

"That's never gonna happen. But thank you."

TC reached out to grab Rick's hand and pull him into a bro shake. The weight on Rick's shoulders eased slightly. They were still trapped in a fridge full of slowly ruining food and a doctor with a bullet hole in his side who was talking his girlfriend through surgery, while their friends were held hostage at gunpoint outside and the bar had a boat in the wall, but at least TC wasn't mad at him.

Little victories.

Ethan writhed in agony on the cold, hard floor while they waited for the tongs to be serialized. Juliet held his hand tightly with her free hand and held in his blood with the other.

"Ah, yes, it's just like, uh, the first time we met, except... now I'm taking a bullet out of you," she forced a smile.

Ethan whimpered slightly. At least Juliet had previous experience at being shot, and pain medication to help her through. Ethan had Thomas. Unfortunately, he had experience just like this one.

"Okay, you ready?"

"Bite down on this."

Thomas pushed the handle of a wooden spoon into his mouth. Ethan gripped it hard. Juliet took the tongs so Thomas took Ethan's hand. He was going to need it.

Rick winced hard as Ethan screamed. Juliet did her best to block it out. Thomas pinned Ethan down so stop him writhing. Rick clenched his jaw. He felt TC bash into him, a little too hard.

"This bringing back memories for you too?" TC grimaced.

"Being trapped and helpless as someone bites on some wood and gets a bullet wound cauterized?" Rick failed to sound breezy, not that he really tried, "I wish it wasn't."

TC nodded in agreement. He felt as helpless now as he had back then, and he never wanted to remember this feeling. He nudged Rick again.

"C'mon, let's focus on getting out of here."

They tried to block out the sound of Ethan screaming through the spoon and panting hard so they could focus on the door. The tension in their shoulders didn’t ease until Juliet pulled the bullet out and dropped it into a glass though.

Ethan dropped his head onto the ground, and the spoon clattered to the floor.

"You did good," he muttered, breathlessly.

Juliet gave a frantic laugh, "So did you."

Ethan nodded, his eyes closing, and muttered, "We did good."

Thomas bit his lip. This next bit he wanted nothing to do with. He couldn't ever forget the blinding white agony of cauterizing a wound, and he didn’t want to see anyone else go through it. He gave Juliet the lighter and stood up to back away.

"Man, why couldn't Booky just stay put? He's out there in this giant hurricane, or he's hiding. Either way, he's in danger," TC complained.

"Well, if he's still in there and they find him, they're not gonna hurt him. He's an old man, and he's no threat to them. Worst case, they-they put him with the rest of the hostages," Rick assured him.

"Or maybe they'll make an example out of him," TC said, darkly.

Rick's stomach twisted again. It was one thing knowing that these three were in danger - they could handle themselves - but Booky was an old man. He was their friend. They should have been looking out for him.

"How's it going?" Thomas asked.

"Not good," Rick muttered.

"A few more minutes, he's gonna go into shock. We got to get out of here," Thomas said.

Juliet was still kneeling over Ethan, stroking his hand caringly, even as he fell unconscious. He had lost a lot of blood and lived through more pain than strictly necessary in the last five minutes. He was lucky that Juliet had experience removing bullets or he might very well be dying. Her head snapped up at the sound of something beeping outside.

"Do you hear that?" Juliet asked urgently.

At the back of the fridge, the men paused. They stopped to listen. Behind the roar of the wind, there was definitely another sound. One that kept repeating.

"It's a car horn," she said.

"It's got a pattern to it," TC said.

"It's Morse code," Thomas agreed

"You think... it's got to be Booky?" Rick said.

There was another pause as they tried to work out what the message within it was. Juliet deciphered it first.

"Move back."

Rick's chest clenched. "Wait, wait, you don't think he-he's gonna..."

"Yeah, I think he is!" TC said.

"Move-move him back!" Thomas cried.

They moved instinctively. At least as instinctively as you can when an ex-veteran is about to drive a van through a wall straight at you.

Juliet and Thomas leaned across Ethan to cover him and Rick and TC shielded their heads with their arms as the van burst through the wall. Honestly it was a little concerning how easily it broke through. The van was essentially unaffected by the crash and reversed free with ease.

At the very large hole at the back of his walk in, and the rain beating in through it, Rick's heart sunk.

"Great. First, the boat crashes through the bar, and now a van!"

"Would you rather be stuck in here?" Thomas quipped.

Rick shrugged, "Good point. Come on."

"Book, you all right?" TC asked urgently.

Booky laughed smugly, right in TC's face. "Too old to drive, huh?"

Sheer astonishment made TC laugh back.

"Let's get Ethan in the van!" Juliet yelled over the storm.

Rick leapt to her aid instantly. TC raced over to grab Ethan's legs when he spotted them struggling. Thomas was busy thinking. They wouldn’t have long before the noise was investigated. They needed a plan.

"Someone has to stay with Ethan, we cant leave him unconscious in a storm alone!" Juliet said.

"I'll stay."

Juliet's head whipped round to stare at Rick. She expected TC to volunteer, not him. He usually needed to be a part of the action. He didn’t like missing out.

"That's good of you Rick," she said.

Rick gave a soft smile and shrugged, "Yeah well I just can't stand to see anything else go wrong in there today. It's already costing me so much."

"Thank you, I appreciate it," Juliet smiled.

She reached out to squeeze his arm. Rick felt his insides turn into jelly. Truth be told he was desperate to sneak in through the front with TC and help take down the gunmen, but this was important to Juliet. He wasn’t sure there was anything he wouldn’t do for her.

"C'mon, let's end this," Thomas declared.

Juliet and TC both gave a nod before leaping into action. They went separate ways, and left Rick and Booky in the van.

Rick shut the door to defend them from the rain, but the wind still rocked them on their suspensions. Rick let out a heavy sigh.

"This weather, huh Book?" Rick said.

"Oh we're just gonna make small talk? Okay then," Booky sneered.

Clearly he was unimpressed with the topic Rick had picked so Rick rolled his head across the back to look at him.

"I'm sorry, do you have a better thing to talk about?"

"How about that pretty doll back in there? What's her name again?"

"Juliet? What about her?"

"When did you realise you were in love with her?"

"Whoa?!"

Rick's eyes widened in alarm. He sat up, shifting in his seat as he wondered what the hell had given him way. He glanced in the rear-view mirror to check Ethan was still out for the count. The last thing he needed was to be perceived as a threat by anyone. So he tried to play it off like it was nothing though.

"No- nah Booky, you got it all wrong! Me and Higgy, we're just friends-"

Booky scoffed scornfully, "Just friends my right ass cheek! I've known you for what, three years, and I ain't ever seen you walk away from a dangerous situation your friends were walking into. But you volunteered to watch the boyfriend. What excuse you telling yourself to cover that huh?"

"Book, I honestly don't-"

Booky folded his arms across his chest and tilted his head forward at Rick. It was a silent challenge to keep ploughing on with his lies and make a fool out of both of them, if he dared. Rick let out another heavy sigh and his shoulders sagged.

"Y’know how Tommy almost married Hannah before she betrayed us?" He asked.

"Rings a faint bell," Booky nodded

"Well Higgy's ex-fiancée was killed by someone she trusted. Makes it hard to move on, y’know?" Rick said, "And for the first time in the whole time I've known her, she actually seems to be happy with someone. She's making a life outside of her work, outside of me and the family and... and I don't want to ruin that for her. I don’t want to ruin anything."

"So you're doing the whole selfless hero act huh?" Booky said.

"It's not an act man, Ethan's a good guy! He saved her life for God's sake, the least we can do is return the favour," Rick shrugged.

"Mm-hmm, and there’s no favour you want in return?" Booky arched an eyebrow.

Rick rolled his eyes, "Shut up Booky."

"Alright, alright, I was just asking," Booky raised his hands in surrender.

Rick swallowed. His eye was trained on the doorway. Booky was watching the hole in the wall, just in case. The wind outside kept the van bouncing. It was the only thing that stopped this silence from feeling awkward.

"I take it no one else knows?" Booky asked, finally.

"Because there's nothing too know," Rick stated.

"Don't sell yourself short, you're a good looking honky with a _great_ hairstyle-" Booky pressed his fingers as he listed things.

"Wow. I'm flattered, thank you," Rick said, sarcastically.

"Mostly because you have a good taste in barbers-"

"Again, thank you-"

"Would you shut up, I'm not done!"

"It doesn't matter Booky!" Rick argued impatiently, "It doesn't matter because Juliet is a smart and sophisticated woman, who graduated university and became an international spy! She runs Robin's nest - she _owns_ Robin's Nest and works as a P.I on the side - she's a success!"

Rick threw his hands up like that clearly and plainly explained why they couldn't be together like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"So?!" Booky demanded.

"A woman like her is never gonna be interested in a Chicago street brat who joined the navy because he couldn’t graduate high school, and has a failing bar that isn’t even insured against hurricanes!" Rick cried.

Booky stared at him as Rick furrowed his brow and tried to swallow the hurt in his chest. No one had pushed him into voicing that yet. He hadn’t even allowed himself to think it. It didn't matter if he wanted Juliet, she wouldn't ever look at him like that. She could do better. He wouldn’t stand in her way.

"You're selling yourself short. You ain’t ever going anywhere if you keep doing that," Booky warned.

"Would you pick me over the handsome, rich, successful doctor that saved her life the first day they met and took a bullet for her today?" Rick asked drily.

"No."

"Exactly, so drop it."

"Fine."

Booky set his hands on his lap, as if he was finally done with this conversation. As much as Rick wanted him to be, he knew Booky too well to believe it.

"I'm gonna put five dollars on you anyway," he stated.

"Five dollars - is someone running a sweepstake? Is it Kamekona?!" Rick demanded.

Booky shrugged, "I dunno, probably. I intend to find out and if not, I will and I'll win it so keep me posted."

Rick just laughed and shook his head. Booky would waste his money on anything. "Alright, whatever, I will."

Booky gave a satisfied nod and finally let the matter go. As ridiculous as it felt, Rick actually felt a little better to know that someone else knew how he felt now. He didn’t have to keep it bottled up anymore.

That was the thing about barbers and bar tenders. They always knew when someone had something to get off their chest.

It was only about twelve minutes later that TC came back out to let them know that both gunmen were tied up safely until the roads were open and the cops could arrive. Between the two of them, TC and Rick carried Ethan back inside. Juliet relinquished a stolen gun to Shammy. By the look of the new cut on his cheek, Rick was confident Shammy was already well acquainted with it.

Gordon took one look at the mess the bar had fallen into and decided that, despite the hazardous drive to get there, waiting out the storm at the station had been the safest plan.

By the morning Rick had once again summoned his favourite small army to start fixing up repairs from the storm. He leaned against a table and sighed at the large hole in the wall. Without the boat filling it, it looked even bigger.

"Maybe we could get a boat and just mount it to the wall. Use it as a karaoke stage, what'd you think?" Rick asked.

TC gave him a look as though he had gone insane, before noticing the way his eye twinkled. He laughed and pulled a beer out of the bucket Rick was carrying.

"Sure, we'll get a boat for in here and a van for the back, yeah? Is that your plan?" He smirked.

Rick pulled a considerate face, "I could see it working."

TC snickered, "man get out of here! Go on, go annoy someone else!"

Obediently Rick wandered away to hand out the rest of the beers to anyone who wanted one. Anyone, except Thomas. He was setting them back on the bar when Juliet walked in.

"Hey!" He beamed.

She smiled back, "Hey."

"Just get back from the hospital?"

"Yeah."

"How's our guy?"

Juliet gave him a warm smile. It was gratifying to know that, even if Thomas was still wary, Rick seemed to approve of her new partner.

"He gets discharged tomorrow."

Rick forced a smile. Him being discharged meant that there would be no limiting visitor hours anymore. He probably wouldn't see her again until Ethan was fit to work. But at least he wasn’t dead.

"That's great!" He declared.

She nodded in agreement, "Yeah. I'm gonna go back later during visiting hours, but for now I'm all yours, so put me to work."

"Okay, cool. Well, um..." Rick had a plan but she was early and he hadn’t set it up yet. To buy time he gestured to the door, "Thomas could use some help over there painting. He's making a bit of a mess of it."

"Okay. Thanks."

Rick handed her a beer as she went. It was more to rub salt into the wound that Thomas didn’t have one than anything else. He had no doubt that Thomas would notice. When Juliet was around his focus tended to shift.

"Hey," he said, as if he hadn’t been impatiently waiting for her to join him.

"Hey," she said back.

"How's Ethan doing?" He asked.

"Well, I don't think we'll be going ice-skating anytime soon, but he's much better," she smiled.

Thomas's fake smile was a lot weaker than Rick's. "That's good to hear."

Juliet nodded along. She leaned back for a moment, just to watch the way the Thomas painted the wood. He could feel her eyes burning in on him.

"Let me guess, I'm doing it wrong?" He asked, drily.

"No, not at all. It looks great," she insisted.

"Liar," he smirked.

She licked her lips cautiously and picked up a brush. The opposite side to Thomas didn't really need as much paint since it was better protected from the storm, but it was easier to talk if she was facing him.

"Ethan says thanks, by the way," she said, slowly. "He said you were terrific in the freezer."

"Come on, you did the hard part," Thomas said.

"This is true," she agreed. "But you were there with me, too. And thank you for what you said to him about being brave. I think he feels a little bit foolish for trying to play the hero."

"Uh, you're welcome, but... what he did..." Thomas tried to think of a nice way to put it but he didn’t need to.

"Was incredibly stupid. Yes, no question," she laughed.

Thomas snorted. Looking back on it now, it seemed like the dumbest idea in the world, but in the heat of the moment it was pretty heroic. Thomas was begrudging to admit it though.

"Uh... you know, I actually think Ethan's... he's a good man."

Juliet's eyes flicked up onto him, surprised, but relieved. "I appreciate you saying that. Means a lot. And... I'm glad you're being so supportive of our relationship, because... well, I think it... might turn into something really serious, and... I'd like you guys to be friends."

"Of course. Me, too," Thomas lied.

Juliet smiled, and the conversation lulled. Thomas considered for the briefest of seconds whether now was the time to admit things to himself, if not to her, but he decided it wasn't. It couldn't be. Not yet.

"Rick's thinking of rebranding. He says someone surviving surgery in their walk in proves their hygiene levels are top quality. Something to think about," Thomas joked.

"Might drive business away if he mentions why surgery was required in the first place," Juliet chuckled.

"Maybe," Thomas agreed.

Juliet wrinkled her nose as she watched him again. "You are doing this wrong by the way-"

"I knew it!" He laughed, "How?! How could I possibly being doing this wrong?!"

"I'll ask Kumu if she can show you-"

"Fat chance, Kumu’s on the power saw again."

"Damn."

Thomas chuckled affectionately at the look of utter disappointed on Juliet's face. She had been expecting this, but it was still a let down. Then Rick cleared his throat behind her.

"Hey, Jules? Can you come with me a sec?"

"Sure."

Rick waited for her to set aside the paint brush and pick up her beer before leading her towards the next station.

"What’s up?" She asked.

"Well, I wanted to thank you for reminding me of the brilliant advice I gave you-" he began.

She snorted, "You can't take credit for my advice-"

"I can and I am. It came from me, its my advice-"

"Well-"

Rick cut her off quickly before she could argue with him, "And I figure that actions speak louder than words right? So it took a little convincing but I got you something that I thought you'd really enjoy."

Rick gave her a smug grin as they came to a stop in the next doorway. Juliet looked confused. She tucked her free hand into her pocket.

"Okay? Should I be concerned?" She asked.

"No, but I am," Shammy complained.

Rick shot him a pointed look and he shot one back, questioning it.

Juliet frowned, "Why, what's going on?"

"Kumu's going to help Thomas paint, which means that I need someone who knows what they're doing on the power saw," Rick explained, pointedly.

Juliet straightened her back in surprise. Ricks eyes shone as her smile slowly grew into laughter.

"You daft sod, you could have just given me chips and I would be happy!" She shoved him playfully as she said it, "thank you, this is very thoughtful. Thanks Kumu!"

"Take good care of her. I'll be keeping an eye," Kumu warned.

"I'm sure you will," Juliet smiled.

"Shammy's in charge of this section if you need anything-" Rick began.

"Yes I am and I'll be taking that," Shammy took the beer from Juliet's hand and put it as far away as he could reach without moving. "Alcohol and power tools aren't a good mix."

"I can accept that," Juliet allowed.

"And if you need _me-"_ Rick began.

Juliet grinned and shook her head. She placed a hand lovingly on top of the power saw. "I think this saw and I will be fine. In fact I think I could rebuild your whole wall quite happily with it!"

"I'll remember that when we're looking up quotes," Rick warned. Juliet chuckled back. Rick waved to usher her onwards, "Well go on, get to work!"

Juliet giggled excitedly as she picked up the goggles resting beside the saw and got to work. Rick wandered back towards the bar, taking the half drunk bottle with him. He smiled to himself as he watched Juliet laugh in delight as the blade whirled. For a classy gal, she was very easy to please. And he really did like that smile.

Booky caught his eye across the room. He raised his full hand and mouthed, "five dollars!"

Rick rolled his eyes and turned away. It suddenly felt a lot hotter in here.


End file.
